This Philly-area vampire museum is the ultimate good vs. evil story
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Left: A sculpture of a Minotaur bust. Right: A statue of St. Michael the Archangel. Photos: Isaac Avilucea/Axios
Antiques dealer Edmondo Crimi bought his first vampire killing set in Paris when he was 18 — which made for an interesting conversation with Customs when he got back stateside.
- They "pulled me into a room and they asked me, 'Are you a vampire?'" he tells Axios.
The big picture: Crimi isn't a vampire, but he has sunk his teeth into the supernatural.
- In 2023, he opened up the Vampire and Paranormal Museum (VAMPA) in Doylestown.
- A mix of the Vatican and "Van Helsing," the museum has eight rooms filled with religious relics, centuries-old vampire killing sets, voodoo boxes, ouija boards, creepy dolls, an enormous hearse carriage that barely fit into the building. ...
- And then there's a spirit named "Abigail" who's said to roam around the old dairy farm, painting happy faces in spilled milk.
What they're saying: From the statue of Minotaur — the Greek mythological man-beast — to a room dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, Crimi says he's curating an experience about good and evil meant to stick with visitors after they leave.
- "If you don't know the difference between good and evil, you're either a sociopath or an a--hole," says Crimi, a devout Catholic and ordained minister.
Zoom in: An art and history buff, Crimi spent years traveling throughout Europe collecting antiques.
- While studying his family history, he learned a great uncle was a priest who performed exorcisms in Sicily.
- A few years ago, Crimi says he was one of the few lay people allowed to attend an exorcism course in Rome — a distinction for which he needed permission from the Catholic diocese in Lambertville, New Jersey.
His experiences in Rome solidified his convictions about good and evil.
- He says exorcisms are "basically a liberation, like if you're going for an operation."
What about his historical view on vampires? Less Bram Stoker and more Sigmund Freud, he believes some people were likely afflicted by psychological disorders while others might have been nighttime lurkers committing petty crimes.
- "There are people that identify as vampires now," he says. "They're usually very nice people. It's more of a cosplay situation, kind of like judges wearing wigs in London."
If you go: The museum is open Thursday-Sunday, 10am-5pm.